1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to wireless communication technology, and more particularly, to a wireless communication device that may be mounted on a surface, such as a road, and communicate instructions, delineate a path/lane, record events, and/or respond to stimuli from the environment in which it operates.
2. Background of the Invention
The importance of clearly delineating roads, crosswalks, sidewalks, and other transportation ways is well known. Surface markings, such as painted lane markers on roadways or painted crosswalks, have been historically used to define transportation ways on a road. Oftentimes, crosswalks may be painted a different color than lane markers in an attempt to highlight the crosswalk on the road.
FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a typical crosswalk across a street. As shown, pedestrians are provided a crosswalk 130 on which they may cross a street 110. In this particular example, the street 110 has traffic moving in two directions. Traffic lanes are delineated by lane markers 145 that are typically painted directly onto the street 110. Also, the crosswalk 130 may be identified on the street 110 by paint that is a different color than the lane markers 145.
The purpose of the crosswalk 130 is to identify to a pedestrian and an automobile driver where the pedestrian should cross the street 110. Inherent in this purpose is that an automobile driver is aware that he or she is approaching a crosswalk so that extra caution may be used to avoid injuring a pedestrian.
The ability of a driver to view the painted crosswalk markings may become hindered depending on the environment. Oftentimes, a painted crosswalk is difficult for an automobile driver to notice because of darkness, fog, rain or other events that may limit the visibility of the crosswalk.
A few cities have installed reflectors or reflective tape along a crosswalk to enhance the visibility of the crosswalk. An even smaller number of cities have installed wired lights along a crosswalk to further enhance the visibility of the crosswalk. The installation of these wired lights requires trenching and the laying of a physical conduit, resulting in significant destruction of the road, in order to provide power to each of the lights. These wires provide each light sufficient power to operate. After the wire has been laid and the lights installed, the road strip must be re-paved so that automobiles can once again drive across it. This installation usually requires that traffic be diverted and may take a significant amount of time to complete the installation process. Furthermore, maintenance of these wired lights may become troublesome as wiring may erode and replacement may require additional trenching and/or removal of a significant portion of the street.